Refrigerator lock



A. RUEHN RBFRIGERATOR LOCK Filed Dec, l5, '1.922

ZN VEN fone Q/Q/A PVA/b.

Patented Dec. 16 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLPH RUBIN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO SIEBER PRODUCTS' M ANU- FAOTURING COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION 0F MISSOUQRQe-j REFRIGERATOR Loox.

Applcationiled December 18, 1922. Serial No. 607,723.

T o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADoLrH RUBIN, a citizen of the-United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a .certain new and useful Improvement in Refrigerator Locks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use theame.

This invention relates to spring-actuated locks of the kind that are used on refrigerators and'ice boxes for retaining the door 'of the refrigerator in its closed position.

The main object of my present invention is to provide a refrigerator lock which is so constructed that the latch will not strike against the keeper with which it co-operates every time the door of the'refrigerator is closed, thereby reducing the tendency of the keeper to work loose, as generally occurs with a conventionalrefrigerator lock which vis of such construction that the latch strikes the keeper a sharp blow each timethe door of the refrigerator is closed.

Another object of my invention is to provide a lock for large commercial refrigerators and ice boxes which is equipped with an .inside door handle that is connected with the latch of the lock in such a way that there is no tendency for the handle shaft to bind in thedoor, as so often occurs with locks of the kind that are now used on large commercial refrigerators. Other objects and desirable yfeatures of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure 1 ofthe 'drawings is aA rear eleva-- tional view of a refrigerator lock constructed in accordance with my invention.

v. Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view,

through a portion of thedoor of a refrigera tor equipped with my improved lock, illustrating how the shaft of the inside door handle is secured to the latch of the lock; and

Figure 4 is a side elevational View of the lock, illustrating how rthe trigger is tripped so as to release the latch and permit it to move into engagement with the keeper atl approximately the time the door reaches its closed position.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my present invention, designates the casing of the lock,

B designates the latch, C designates the keeper that co-operates with the latch to retain the door in its closed position D designates the handle on the outside of that is used to disengage the latch from the the door long lever to be used to form the latch B of the lock,- said casting being open on its inner `side and being provided with flanges and lugs l through which fastening devices can be passed to secure the casing to the door of the refrigerator. transversely of the casing A with its free end projecting outwardly through an elon gated slot 2 in one of the side walls of the casing, and the keeper C is connected to a stationary part of the refrigerator in proximity to the door\ opening in such a way The latch B extends that a roller 3 fon said latch will be seated i in a pocket, recess or other irregular surface in the top edge of the keeper C when the 'door ofthe refrigerator is in its closed position.- The outside handle D of the lock is pivotally mounted on the front wall of the casing A in any preferred manner and isA provided at its lower end with an angularlydisposed arm 4 that projectsinwardly throughan opening in said front wall, as

shown in Figure 2, the arm 4 *being con-` nected by means of a link 5 with the latch B in such away that when the upper end of said handle is pulled forwardly (to the right looking at Figure 2) the latch B will` be moved upwardly into the position shown in Figure In the conventional refrigerator locks now in general use the latchof the lock is so arranged that itstrikes against the keeper with considerable force each time the door of the refrigeratorl is closed. This is objectionable, especlally in locks that are used onl large commercial refrigerators and ice boxes, forv the constant hammering of the latchagainst the keeper causes the keeper to work loose, thus reducing the efficiency of the lock as a means for tightly holding the -refrigerator door` in its closed position. In order to overcome this objectionable characteristic of the conventional refrigerator lock, I have constructed my improved-lock in such a way that the latch B will be maintained in such.

a position that it will not strike against the keeper C during the operation of closing the door, but, on the contrary, will'pass over the keeper or clear same when the door is closing and will thereafter move downwardly intoengagement with the keeper at approximately the time the door reaches its fully closed position. I accomplish this desirable result byproviding the lock with a spring-actuated trigger E that. moves automatically into engagement with the latch `B,and.tl1us retains it in its elevated or inoperative position when said latch is lifted or moved upwardly out of engagement with the keeper -C by movin@ the upper end of the handley D I forwardly. Figures 1 `and'lf, the trigger E is arranged on the inside ofthe casing A adjacent the side wall of the housing through which the' l free end of the latchB'projects, and is pivotallj; connected at'its lower end tothe 'casing y means of a pintle or pivot pin.6 which may either extendj transversely through the side walls of the casing or -through one of saidside walls, yand through a lug 7 on the inside of the casing, as shown in Figure 1. lIn general design the trigger E resembles a bell crank lever, for it is provided at its lower end with aforwardly-44 projecting arm 8, shown in broken linesin yFigure Il, to. which a coiled contractile spring F is connected, the function of said spring being to exert pressure on the trigger E in such a direction that the upperend of said trigger will move into engagement with the undersideof the latch B,'and thus A .retain said latch in its elevated position whenever said latch is moved upwardly to disengageit from the keeper C. 'I also pref fer touse the spring F to exert pressure on the latch B in a direction to move said latch downwardly, and thus hold it in engagement with the keeper C, and to this end I connect the upper end of the spring F to a lug 9 on the underside of the latch B. It is imma- -terial, however,- so far as my inventionis concerned, whether separate sprinofs are provided foractuating the trigger and the latch,

or whether a single spring F is employed forv actuating both of said parts. In order to disengagethetrigger E from the latch B at approximately the time the door reaches its closed position, the trigger E is provided with. a tripping device 10 arranged on the outside of the casing Aand connected to the trigger by a portion that passes through the slot 2 in the side wallv of the casing through which the free end ofthe latch B projects, said tripping 'device 10. being so arranged that it will strikeagainst an abut- As shown in y ment 11 on the plate 12 which carries the keeper C. lIf it is desired to' open the door of the refrigerator the' u per end of the handle D is pulled forwar ly, thereby causing the link 5 to move the free end of thelatch B upwardly out of engagement with the keeper C. As soon as the latch B clears the upper end of the trigger or' catch E,

said trigger will'rock rearwardly under the miiuence of the spring F, and thus cause the upper end of said trigger to be positioned under .the latch B, thereby maintaining said latch 1n its elevated position. Thereafter,

lwhen the door is closed, the roller 3 on the latch B passes over the keeper C without touching same or subjecting it to 'a blow, and just about the time the door reaches its closed position, the end of the tripping device 10 on the trigger strikes against the abutment 11, thereby disengaging the tr1gger from the latch B, and permittingl said latch to move downwardly under the influence of the spring F into engagement with l the keeper C.

It is immaterial how the latch B'ispivot-v ally mounted on the casing of the lock, but I prefer to provide the laterally-projecting extension-"Af of the-casing with a stud 13, shown in Figlilre 3, .that projects into a hole in the latch and form the link 5 in such away that it prevents the latch from moving relatively to the casinglin such a direc` tion as to cause the stud 13 to be withdrawn from the hole provided for same in the latch B. In the lock hereinshown this is accomplished by providing the. link 5 with a pin 14 'that projects forwardly through an elongated slot 15 in the latch and providing the lower end of said link with a forwardly projecting, L-shaped portion 16 whose ver" `tical leg has an elongated lslot17 which re- The handle Gon theinside of the refrigerator door is connected with the latch .B by` -means of ahorizontally-.disposed shaft 19 that vextends through the door, as shown' in Figure 3. In the conventional refrigerator lock the inside door handle shaft is integrally connected with the latch of the lock. Consequently, there is a tendency for the shaft to bind in the door if thehole through which the shaft extends is not at absolute right angles to the latch `of the "lock, One

object of my. invention is to overcome this vsaid parts are capable of a slight angular movement relatively to each other, thereby eliminating the tendency of the inside door handle shaft-to bind in the door. The particular form of connection that is used between the 4shaft 19 and latch B is immaterial, but I prefer to provide said shaft at one end with a non-circular shaped head v20 that projects into a correspondingly-shaped socket v21 formed in the rear side of the latch B at a' point in alignment with the stud 13 on which said latch is pivotally mounted. Plates 22 and 23 are connected to the outl side face and inside face o f the refrigera- .tordoor 24, so as to form bearings for the shaft 19, and the inside handle G is connectedto said shaft by nuts 25 arranged at opposite sides of a portion of said handle through which the shaft 19 passes, said shaft and handle being equipped with grooves in which a key or-spline 26 is inserted so asito cause the shaft 19 to turn when the handle Gis rocked to the right or to the left. In mounting the lock a hole is first formed in the door ,for the handle shaft 19. Said shaft is then combiiiedwith the latch B by insertving the head 20 on the shaft in the socket 21 of the latch and connecting the outsideshaft bearing plate 2 2 to the casing A of the lock by fastening devices` 27, as-shown4 in Figure 3, and the casing A of the lock is then connected to the outer face of the door-by -fastening devices inserted' through the anges and lugs'l on `said casing. Thereafter, the inside bearing plate 23 is connected to the inner 4face of the refrigerator door and the inside handle is connected'to the shaft 1 9 by means' of the spline 26 and nuts 25.

A Ai refrigerator lock of the construction above described is exceptionally strong and rugged and is inexpensive to manufacture, due to its simple design. The parts of same can be assembled and disassembledeasily, and when the -lock is in'use, the latch of same will not strike against the keeper with which it co-operates each time the refrigerator door is closed, thereby reducing the tendency of the keeper to work loose, as so often occurs in conventional refrigerator locks in which the latch is of such a construction that it strikes the keeper a sharp blow each time the refrigerator door is moved int'o its closed position.

Having thus described my invention, what. I claim as new and desire to secure by Let- I openlng in one wall in the casing, a stud in osition a casin that houses a ortion of P a g said latch, a pivotally-mounted handleon the casing, a link inside of said casing connected to said handle and latch for disengaging the latch from the keeper, and a spring-actuated trigger or catch inside of the casing for engaging and holding said latch in an .inoperative condition after it has been ldisengaged from the keeper, said trigger having a portion projecting outwardly through an opening i-n the casing that is adapted to strike against a stationary part on the refrigerator during the operation of closing the door so as to permit the latch to move into engagement with the keeper.

2. A refrigerator lock, comprising a latch that is adapted to co-operate with a keeper to retain the refrigerator door in its closed position, means for disengaging the latch from the keeper preparatory to opening the door, a trigger or catch that is adapted to move into engagement with the latch and retain it in an inoperative condition after it has' been disengaged from the keeper, and a spring combined with'said trigger and latch in such a way that it. moves the trigger into engagement with the latch after the latch hasbeen disengaged from the keeper'and subsequently moves the latch into engagement with the keeper after said trigger has been rendered inoperative. 3. A refrigerator lock,

.otally mounted latch that operate with a keeper to retain the refriger- .ator door in its closed position, a casing comprising a pivis adapted to cotory to opening lthe door, and a spring-actuated means arranged inside of said casing for maintaining the latch in a certain position when the refrigerator door is open.

'-1. A refrigerator lock, comprising a hollow casing ,provided at'dne side with a laterally-projecting extension, a latch arranged transversely of said casing inside of same and pivotally connected at one end to said extension, a manuallyoperable means on the" exterior of said casing for moving said latch in one direction, a spring for moving said latch in the opposite direction, and a trigger inside of said. casing connected to said spring and adapted to co-operate with said latch for the purpose described.

' 5. .A refrigerator lock, comprising a. hollow'casing provided at one side'with'a laterally-projecting extension, a pivotally mounted latch arranged transversely of said casing with its free end projecting through an the extension on the casing that projects into Va hole in saidlatch so as to form a embracing the latch and pivotally connected* to same, said link being connected at one end vto vthe V'inwardly-projecting portion of.

' the handle, and a sliding connection between the opposite end of said link and the casing.

6. A refrigerator lock, comprising a casing adaptedto he connected to the'door of a refrigerator, a spring-actuated latch in said casing pivotally connected to same by a pa'rt on*4 one of said elements that projects into a hole or recess in the other element, an

i operating handle on the outside of the casing opening in the casing and adapted to co- Ahaving aportionthat projects into the casing, and a llinkinside of thecasing for connecting the handle to said latch, said link extending acrosssaid latch and operating to prevent the latch from moving relatively to the casing sniiiciently to disturb the pivot-al connection betweensaid latch and casing.

7. A refrigerator 1ock,'co1nprising a hollow casing adaptedto be connected to the door of a refrigerator, a pivotally mountedlatch in said casing projecting through an operate vwith a keeper to retain `the refrigerator door in its closed position, a pivotally mounted handle on the outside of th'e casing having a portion that-projects into the casing, a link in said casing pivotally connected to said latch and handle,1a trigger or catch l in said casing adapted to engage the' latch and retain it in an vinoperative condition after it has been disengaged from the keeper,

' and a spring combinedwith said latch and trigger for-operating vboth 4of said elements,

the triggerhaving a tripping portion Vthat projects outwardly through a hole in the casing. l

8. A lock for refrigerators and ice boxes, vcomprising a casing that is adapted to be mounted on one side of a refrigerator door,

`latch. l

9. A lock for refrigerators and ice boxes,

comprising a. casi-ng that is adapted to be.

connected tothe door of a refrigerator, a pivotally mounted latch carried by Said casing, an operating shaft for said latch that is adapted to project through the refriger j ator door, said shaft having a loose connection with' said latch, and a bearing plate for said .shaft detachably' connected to .said casingy and arranged so that it prevents -the shaft from separating from said latch.

10. A. refrigerator lock, comprising a hollow casing adaptedto vbe connected lto a re- `frigerator door, a pivot'ally mounted,-spring actuated latchin said casing having its free end projectin through an openingV inV the casing'and a apted to co-operate With-a stationary keeper Lto retain the door of the 'refrigerator inits closed. position, -a handle 'on said casing, a connection between said handle' and latch, a pivotally mounted,

spring-actuated trigger'or catch on the cas`v `ing adapted to engage lthe llatch and reta-in* it invanpinope'rative condition after it has been disengaged from the keeper, a tripping device on said-trigger,- and a shaft adaptedl to extend through the refrigerator door and i I provided at one end with a non-circularshaped portion that projects into a non-cir-- cular-shaped opening in the latch for the purposedescribed. c

ADOLPH RUBIN.. 

